Lankum: The Livelong Day review – the Irish folk songbook uprooted
Folk standards get extreme makeovers on the Dublin four-piece’s latest, cementing their place at the forefront of the form - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarKim Gordon: No Home Record review – calling out culture with charisma, wit and menace
Gordon’s first solo album sees her skewer everything from harassment to fame - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarRichard Dawson: 2020 review – Britain's best, most humane songwriter
Dawson adds pop-facing elements to folk on this brilliant album, full of stories of a benighted Britain - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarNick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Ghosteen review – a heavenly haunting
In the first album wholly written since the death of his son, Cave reaches an extraordinary, sad and beautiful artistic evolution - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarPat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band: Obiaa! review – sparkling highlife reinvention
(Strut Records) The ‘golden voice of Africa’ reboots the Ghanaian form for a new, globalised fanbase - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarNick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Ghosteen review – the most beautiful songs he has ever recorded
Cave’s voice is richer than ever on this stunning double album that sets desperation against empathy and faith - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarSturgill Simpson: Sound & Fury review – country's outlaw catches fire
Another big shift in direction for Simpson, with anime visuals, glam rock, disco and grunge ornamenting never-more-country lyrics: it’s extraordinary - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarTetzlaff: Beethoven and Sibelius Concertos review – leaves you breathless
Tetzlaff/Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Ticciati (Ondine)Well-known works played with impressive nonchalance and grace by violinist whose touch is light, and right - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarDusapin: Penthesilea review – restraint lends powerful drama a truly shocking edge
The story of an Amazonian queen who falls in love with Greek warrior Achilles and mistakenly kills him, Dusapin’s work is taut and compelling, lingering in the mind - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarFloating Points: Crush review – beauty out of chaos
(Ninja Tune) - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarEthan Iverson Quartet: Common Practice review – outrageously logical
(ECM) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarCaroline Polachek: Pang review – pop that hits like a southpaw's hook
The ex-Chairlift singer gasps, yelps and croons through a well-written and melodious portrait of lust, romance and heartbreak - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarVagabon: Vagabon review – indie star is expansive yet intimate
Swapping crunching guitars for softer electronics, Laetitia Tamko’s second album is both sharp and tender - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarMark Lanegan Band: Somebody's Knocking review – surly rock pinup sees the fun side
Lanegan’s desolate croon gets its groove on, in this rocking, relatable 11th album - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarDame Ethel Smyth: Mass in D review – brick-throwing suffragette's sumptuous lost work
The BBCSO and Sakari Oramo give Smyth’s era-defying mass the grand recording it deserves, alongside the overture to her opera The Wreckers - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarBig Thief: Two Hands review – a more earthbound follow-up to UFOF
(4AD) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarKim Gordon: No Home Record review – quite a feat
(Matador) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarBig Thief: Two Hands review – powerful and gritty grunge folk
This ‘earth twin’ album to their ‘celestial twin’ UFOF, released in May, foregrounds Adrianne Lenker’s arresting voice and tender/brutal lyrics - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarAlice Zawadzki: Within You Is a World of Spring review – vivid blend of Schubert, Spain and Stevie Wonder
The Anglo-Polish vocalist goes way beyond jazz on her second solo album, for a hymn to nature that masters many styles - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarMorton Feldman: Piano review – connecting the dots on a modern master
Philip Thomas’s authoritative playing shows why Feldman’s keyboard music is some of the most important of the last century - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarElbow: Giants of All Sizes review – a rich vision of broken Britain
It’s a dislocated Elbow that you get on this proggy, restless record – but their sense of empathy is still strong - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarJohn Coltrane Quartet: Blue World review – fascinating lost sessions
(Impulse) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarRachid Taha: Je Suis Africain review – a rollicking posthumous release
(Naïve/Believe) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarWilco: Ode to Joy review – yet another winning set
(dBpm) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarThe Sherlocks: Under Your Sky review – anthemic Yorkshire poets
(Infectious/BMG) The band’s second album, with producer James Skelly, leaps from their previous elementary indie into effervescent rock songs to be sung out loud - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarWilco: Ode to Joy review – Jeff Tweedy is as uncertain, but as sincere, as ever
Stripped back it may be, but Wilco’s 11th album combines expressive lyrics about change with big singalong choruses - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarDanny Brown: uknowhatimsayin¿ review – cleaned-up rapper still has the horn
(Warp)He may look less of a mess, but Brown is still full of sap, celebrating sexual escapades in comic, crowd-pleasing style - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarAngel Olsen: All Mirrors review – shapeshifting songs to impress and unnerve
Literate, melodious songs twist into dissonance and darkness on Olsen’s new album. It’s a rewarding, unexpected listen - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarTegan and Sara: Hey, I’m Just Like You review – Canadian twins revisit their youth
(Sire) - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarBlack String: Karma review – elegant South Korean folk jazz
(ACT) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarGirl Band: The Talkies review – Dublin punks rejoin the moshpit – and the dancefloor
(Rough Trade)This second album has taken four years, but the songs, finessing the band’s noise-rock through a filter of techno and glam, are sensational - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarYoung MA: Herstory in the Making review – weighty rap debut is worth the wait
Lithe, unembellished tracks form a perfect backdrop to MA’s magnetic delivery on songs that party and question in equal measure - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarJohn Coltrane: Blue World review – vibrant sampler of a musical giant
Commissioned for a film soundtrack, these tracks and takes were not intended for release, but they show a group at the height of its powers - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarBritish Tone Poems Volume 2 review – raising Britain's tone
Rumon Gamba’s second collection of music written in the early 20th century contains young Dorothy Howell’s striking Lamia - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarMetronomy: Metronomy Forever review – an eclectic glide through the genres
(Because Music) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarQuentin Collins Sextet: Road Warrior review – trumpeter's dream band
(Ubuntu Music) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarHiss Golden Messenger: Terms of Surrender review – country-rock with a conscience
Hiss Golden Messenger: Terms of Surrender review – restless southern country-rock with a conscience - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarHiss Golden Messenger: Terms of Surrender review – songs of despair turned to hope
MC Taylor’s 11th album was written in depression but finds notes of hope – and a musical sound that fuses old with new - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarBrittany Howard: Jaime review – Alabama Shakes singer's luminous neo-soul
A wonderful solo debut takes in race, religion and boozy excess, all with searing lyricism - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarRed River Dialect: Abundance Welcoming Ghosts review – alert, anti-colonialist folk
Songwriter David Morris brings alternate seduction and disquiet on this worldly album steeped in the British landscape - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarCharli XCX: Charli review – deep and sweet, and her best yet
(Atlantic) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarGruff Rhys: Pang! review – acoustic, pastoral, global … and as unpredictable as ever
Sung in Welsh, produced by South African artist Muzi, Rhys’s latest is a chamber folk-rock minor masterpiece - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarCharli XCX: Charli review – a raw, rousing step towards superstardom
The embattled singer reveals her anxieties and coaxes brilliance from various guests in a candid, confident third album - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarSam Fender: Hypersonic Missiles review – perfectly imperfect rock debut
The North Shields singer-songwriter may look cookie-cutter but his gritty, gloriously anthemic songs on toxic masculinity, violence and death are anything but - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarChrissie Hynde: Valve Bone Woe review – offbeat jazz with rock star cool
Hynde’s album of covers is inviting and interesting, thanks to her insouciant attitude - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarOcto Octa: Resonant Body review – upbeat, free-spirited electronica
Octo Octa’s trans journey is mirrored in her electronic palette, using crunching beats, ambience and supple synths on celebratory tracks - Tayyab Amin
starstarstarstarstarBat for Lashes: Lost Girls review – sunny Cali-flavoured vampire pop
This has to be Natasha Khan’s most playful album yet, recorded for pleasure in the US and centred around a desert-dwelling blood-sucking girl gang - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarTinariwen: Amadjar review – places you at the centre of a nomadic soundworld
Tinariwen’s ninth album brings guests including Warren Ellis but the real artistry is in their own deft, fearless interplay - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarBeethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas review – at his best, Levit is outstanding
Levit scales the heights over nine CDs, though excessive speed means musical sense is lost in some sonatas - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarBlack Belt Eagle Scout: At the Party with My Brown Friends review – atmospheric indie rock
(Saddle Creek) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarThe Futureheads: Powers review – a welcome return
(Nul) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarKano: Hoodies All Summer review – grime elder statesman back with force
(Parlophone) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarLana Del Rey: Norman Fucking Rockwell review – stops you in your tracks
The American’s involving fifth album proves she can do more than merely conjure up a mood - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarEzra Furman: Twelve Nudes review – an electrifying roar of hopelessness and rage
Furman continues to renege on his retirement with a gloriously angry punk album that takes aim at his broken homeland - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarTool: Fear Inoculum review – primordial riffage to pull you under
Every track is an epic on this almighty fifth album from a band intent on securing their status as masters of metal - Kate Hutchinson
starstarstarstarstarDennehy: The Hunger review – compelling operatic song cycle of Irish famine
Donnacha Dennehy’s ‘docu-cantata’ fuses his minimalist style with traditional Irish singing and a soprano voice - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarWendy Kirkland: The Music’s On Me review – making it seem easy
(Blue Quaver) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarJay Som: Anak Ko review – subtly impressive
(Polyvinyl) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarRapsody: Eve review – inspiring rap celebration of women of colour
With every track named for a black woman, Nina, Aaliyah and Oprah among them, Rapsody’s playful flow is balanced by her dry wit - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarHeadie One: Music X Road review – UK drill kingpin gets introspective
A document of growth, tangled with claustrophobia and regret, shows the prolific MC moving forward creatively - Al Horner
starstarstarstarstarRowan Rheingans: The Lines We Draw Together review – tracing extremism's slow creep
Drawing on stories about life in 1940s Germany, this handsome album contains a powerful narrative about racism and intolerance - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarFelix & Fanny Mendelssohn: Works for Cello and Piano review – animated, playful and soulful
The Mendelssohn siblings’ chamber music is vital and fierce on this release by cellist Johannes Moser and pianist Alasdair Beatson - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarSheer Mag: A Distant Call review – swagger rockin' on grim reality
Topics from LGBTQ rights to fat-shaming, injustice to abuse are wrapped up in jubilant cock-rock minus the male entitlement - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarCaroline Polachek: Pang review – lush, ultra-modern ecstasy
(Columbia) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarWretch 32: Upon Reflection review – UK rap hero searches soul
The rapper’s fifth album deals with gender and mental health issues, and with a refreshing new musical looseness - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarFoals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2 review – grandiose designs
What promised to be the state-of-the-nation address to top all other state-of-the-nation addresses turns out to be merely a solid, rifftastic arena rock album - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarMaz O’Connor: Chosen Daughter review – fine, female-focused folk
(Restless Head/Hudson) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarBabymetal: Metal Galaxy review – kawaii metal originators deliver clashy opus
The band’s third, and possibly best, album combines their familiar sugary pop melodies mashed with thrashing metal - Dean Van Nguyen
starstarstarstarstarAngel Olsen: All Mirrors review – a little lost in the operatic mix
(Jagjaguwar) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarChromatics: Closer to Grey review – darkly glamorous pop outsmarts imitators
Smart production, corrupted sounds and existential dread set Kill for Love’s successor apart from schlockier 80s pop reincarnations - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarThe Tchaikovsky Project review – responsive orchestra needs a lighter touch
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra clearly understands Tchaikovsky, but conductor Semyon Bychkov is too pushy - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarGirl Band: The Talkies review – a true haunted house horror
(Rough Trade) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarSturgill Simpson: Sound & Fury review – country meets funk-rock
(Elektra) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarDermot Kennedy: Without Fear review – a colossal voice and flashes of social darkness
(Riggins/Island)The Irish troubadour adds electronic and hip-hop elements – if that sounds familiar, he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarTegan and Sara: Hey, I'm Just Like You review – adolescent angst in synthpop
(Warner Records)Reworked songs of teenage travails from the Quin twins, who go back to their youth in slick, pulsating pop - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarKhalid review – teen spirit squandered?
Khalid’s meteoric rise from high-school student to stadium-filler has seen him spread himself too thinly and lose the edge to his heartfelt songs - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarKeane: Cause and Effect review – even a jaunty indie quartet can have a mid-life crisis
Transitioning from innocence to experience, the Somewhere Only We Know gang provide a bitter account of the end of a relationship - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarTove Lo: Sunshine Kitty review – pop nihilist peers out of the shadows
The Swedish star finds some illicit thrills on an edgy, intimate album that doesn’t quite have the courage of its convictions - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarLiam Gallagher: Why Me? Why Not. review – more meat and veg rock'n'roll
Gallagher provides more crowd-pleasers for his sizable audience of 90s guitar-rock nostalgists – and with greater confidence - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarTop Boy soundtrack review – a showcase of UK rap's strength and diversity
The Drake-abetted return of gang drama Top Boy extends to this collection of music inspired by the show, with strong showings from Headie One and Dave - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarJenny Hval: The Practice of Love – ambient therapy
(Sacred Bones) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarShow of Hands: Battlefield Dance Floor review – folk stalwarts keep it fresh
(Proper) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarSampa the Great: The Return review – new perspectives on rap's age-old questions
She’s charismatic and her challenges to western orthodoxy are welcome, but Sampa needs to find a fresher sonic palette - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarPixies: Beneath the Eyrie review – gothy, theatrical alt-rock fables and tall tales
Minus the loud-quiet-loud dynamic, Pixies’ third album since re-forming has creepy songs about witches, spells and death - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarJóhann Jóhannsson: 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann review – elegiac, spartan suite
Jóhannsson’s piece, inspired by artist Heinzmann, lacks the composer’s electronic trademarks, but it is full of poignant beauty in this reworking by Echo Collective - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarIggy Pop: Free review – enjoyably quixotic
(Loma Vista/Caroline) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarMiles Davis: Rubberband review – slim pickings
(Rhino/Warner) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarMahalia: Love and Compromise review – breezy, mellow soul-pop
(Warner) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarBat for Lashes: Lost Girls review – the everyday supernatural
(Awal) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarThe Highwomen: The Highwomen review – country supergroup shatter macho cliches
The all-star quartet upend rootsy conventions to hit some rollicking highs – but can’t fully escape the classic pitfalls - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarTaxi Wars: Artificial Horizon review – intelligent jazz from dEUS frontman
(Sdban Ultra) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarKano: Hoodies All Summer review – London's grime guru gets soulful
The veteran MC reveals his pensive side on a brooding sixth album that skilfully fuses the sombre and the uplifting - Al Horner
starstarstarstarstarSheryl Crow: Threads review – Americana-pop queen stitches genre-hop farewell
Big-name guests abound in a valedictory 11th album that offers a fitting reminder of Crow’s melancholy magic - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarMiles Davis: Rubberband review – traces of majesty
This long-awaited remake of the pop-infused 1985 sessions may not quite do Davis justice but it hits compelling highs - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarEzra Furman: Twelve Nudes review – a short, sharp, exhilarating blast
(Bella Union) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarTaylor Swift: Lover review – a return to past glories
Taylor Swift’s latest album revisits the catchy pop and romantic concerns that made her name - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarTropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops review – punchy alt punks in a burning world
Australian band maps their own music from post punk, rock, funk and noise in songs about mind control and decay - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarJidenna: 85 to Africa – Classic Man takes it back to the source
The Wisconsin-born singer and rapper adds musical elements of his west African background, but the production lacks warmth - Dean Van Nguyen
starstarstarstarstarTaylor Swift: Lover review – pop dominator wears her heart on her sleeve
Less bitter than Reputation, Lover has something for everyone, especially Swift’s boyfriend, but is she treading water? - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarPixies: Beneath the Eyrie review – workaday once again
(BMG) - Phil Mongredien
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